Earthquake Protection Using Ancient Techniques
Currently earthquakes cause buildings to collapse and are therefore quite deadly, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Already there are modern high tech solutions that many earthquake prone…
architecture
Time to Rethink the Skyscraper
The climate crisis has us questioning where people live, work, and how they get between the two. We’ve known for decades that low density sub-urban living is horrible for the…
Algae Architecture Alleviates Air Pollution
The future will use algae everywhere so architects are examining ways to incorporate these versatile eukaryotic organisms into the built environment. Architects are already engaged in designing buildings to support…
How Cities Deal with More Intense Heat Waves
Global warming is bringing more intense heat waves to our urban environments which means cities will need to adapt to the new temperatures. Indeed, regular readers will recognize a lot…
The Sad Neglect of Collingwood’s Terminals
Whether you want to restore them or tear them down, you would probably like council to do SOMETHING about the decaying, century-old icon*on our waterfront. Anything, in fact. But as…
Musings on Art and Taste
Many years ago, I had a lengthy correspondence with a friend in another part of Canada about what constitutes art. His basic argument was that art was not neutral or…
Architects Need to Build Their Knowledge to Build a Sustainable Future
Current popular building practices lack a nuanced approach to sustainability due to years of it being culturally ok to put future generations into ecological debt. Thankfully, things are starting to…
To Build a Green Future We Need Green Buildings
Buildings suck up a lot of energy and thus are massive contributors to our collective carbon footprint. After they are built ongoing operational costs are incurred, and the costs are…
Green Homes: The New Gold Standard (Beyond Net Zero & Passive House Design)
The newest Earthship green home design would seem to be the best performing home design overall, beating typical Net Zero or even Passive House designed homes. However, it would be…
A Revolution In Green Homes: Systems Thinking Required
Or, Revolutionizing The Leading Edge Think outside the box – outside ALL boxes, including the club we’re in. This short video presentation (below) is the best summary I…
Architecture & Home Design: Raising the Bar
This is my favourite home design so far. (Video below) Every home and building should be passive solar, and every home or building should be an Earth Home –…
Angkor Wat: Reflections On Our Modern World
~*~ Angkor Wat is the crown jewel of a 400 square kilometer set of temples and holy sites, set in the jungles of Cambodia. Built as a Hindu temple in…
Gender Inclusive Design for our Built Environment
Architects generally want people to feel comfortable around their buildings or interior spaces; however, architects aren’t perfect and may overlook some simple design solutions that can put people at ease.…
We can Still Learn from Traditional Approaches to the Built Environment
In a new book about how humans build and shape the environment around us, Julia Watson, argues that traditional indigenous techniques are the most efficient. Forget techno-carbon capture, smart cities,…
How Architects are Responding to the Climate Crisis
Architecture is all around us and most of us don’t even think about it. The built environment shapes how we think and provides (or denies) us with options on how…
Download This Home
The standard North American home (pictured above) is horrible inefficient and quite bad for the environment. As the climate crisis conies to worsen we need to change the way we…
Readings of Gordon Matta-Clark
Very hot afternoon. There were some readings of the artist Gordon Matta-Clark‘s notes and letters on the lawn of the Canadian Centre for Architecture today. Really interesting despite the heat.
How Trent University Preserves Canadian Architecture
Like other art forms styles come and go in architecture; and when styles go in architecture it can result in demolition of buildings (and thus history). In Canada university and…
Let’s Save Brutalism
Saving architecture through Twitter seems a little odd, yet the #SOSBrutalism movement has engendered an appreciation for an architectural style and saving buildings from demolition. Critics of brutalism describe the…
Walk # 16
“Go outside. Don’t tell anyone and don’t bring your phone. Start walking and keep walking until you no longer know the road like the palm of your hand, because we